ESL teacher reads between the lines

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 7, 2008

STAFF WRITER

For years, Barry Corn made house calls in downtown Danbury. But he never carried a black leather bag with a stethoscope inside.

Instead, Corn carried the most special key in the world for some immigrants, the key to unlocking the English language and its Rubik's Cube of street signs, grocery store fliers, utility bills and books.

These days, Corn has taken his class into a permanent home at the corner of Maple Avenue and Crosby Street.

The free program, which is operated by Danbury Public Schools, is paid for with state funds. Each 10-week session meets twice a week for two hours.

Corn takes his role a step further. Or, at least, one hour further.

He teaches his ESL classes for three hours and routinely stays afterward to provide extra help for residents of the seven local towns served by WERACE: Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Newtown, Ridgefield, Redding and New Fairfield.

For most of Corn's ESL sessions, there are about 10 or 12 people registered for the class, and another 10 or 12 individuals auditing it, immigrants who missed the registration deadline but sit in chairs, raise their hands and participate just the same.

"For WERACE to get its state funding, we have to do the paperwork," Corn said. "Students are required to take a pre-test (for placement) and a post-test after the session.

"But I would also say this: Depending on the particular session, 85 to 95 percent of my students are undocumented immigrants," Corn said.

How does he know? His students tell him.

"I don't ask, 'Are you documented or undocumented?' But often times, the students will volunteer the information," said Corn, 69.

"For me, the whole key to teaching -- especially in today's atmosphere -- is to keep it light and the students will learn that a teacher is a friend," Corn said. "But above all else, they have to trust you."

Corn, a longtime Ridgefield resident, has worked hard to build that trust.

A patient man with good instincts and a better heart, Corn is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a retired international business lawyer. He speaks four languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

He refuses to be defined by labels in a country quick to affix them.

"Just in the course of conversation -- in class and for practical purposes -- I'll ask my students what they do, where they work, how many hours they work, those kinds of things," Corn said.

"The majority of them have more than one job and they work 50 to 60 hours per week," Corn added. "They're tireless workers, but they still find enough time and enough energy to come to class."

Corn will tell you about immigrant workers who dress up to attend class because they believe it's a privilege to learn English.

He will tell you the story of one immigrant student, a man with a bodybuilder's frame, who isn't looking for a handout from America, but rather a handshake.

"This particular man does heavy labor, a lot of blacktop work," Corn said. "Contrary to what (some people say) about immigrants wanting to throw Americans out of work and working for $7 an hour, I can tell you right now, these guys don't make $7 an hour."

For manual labor, Corn said, most immigrant workers make about $12 an hour. For work that's more strenuous or requires a skill -- many immigrant workers are trained carpenters and masons -- the rate is usually $13 to $18 an hour.

Sis Mitchell, WERACE's adult education director for the past 10 years, is proud of the lives her program has changed. She is just as proud of WERACE's record of inclusion in Greater Danbury.

"We've been told by the state department (of education) not to ask about immigration status," Mitchell said Wednesday. "I'm sure that we serve undocumented immigrants, but many more of the people we serve are documented.

"Still, we've also noticed our numbers have gone down since the (Jan. 14) announcement of the ICE ACCESS program in Danbury," Mitchell said, referring to the city's partnership with federal immigration officials.

"There's definitely been a noticeable change for us," she noted.

By Connecticut state mandate, adult education services must be offered to all residents 16 and older who want them.

Those services include completing the requirements for a high school diploma, learning about becoming a U.S. citizen and taking ESL courses such as the one taught by Corn.